Sunday, July 18, 2010

July 18th, 2010

I will try to make up for my lack of posts by making this a long one! James' parents came to visit us the first weekend in July, and they brought us our new bed. We are so excited to have our new bed! We visited James' Aunt Karen and Uncle Larry (and lots of other family members) in Bloomington the following weekend. We had a great time spending time with family this month, but we didn't get to take many pictures.
The girls are in "big girl beds" now! They love their beds, and the transition was super easy. Here are updates on what we have all been up to:

James finished summer basketball and summer school, and has been busy at home trying to catch up on all of the details that have been overlooked for the past year. He has also been watching the girls, and they are loving having their daddy at home! Our house and our garden have never looked so good. He is also finishing up his graduate classes, and will be officially done in December!

I am working and taking three graduate classes and driving to Columbia twice a week. I have been extremely busy, but I am enjoying it. I am so glad that James has been able to pick up the slack at home.

Emerson is loving having her daddy home, and tries to cuddle with her daddy as much as possible! She is wearing big girl panties all day, and rarely has accidents! She loves her big girl bed, and also enjoys the freedom! She rises with the sun, and tries to wake up her sister! We ended up getting another kitten (it's a long story) and she loves both of the kittens so much. We have been taking the girls for bike rides at night. Emerson loves riding in the bike trailer, and would ride for hours if we would let her! Emerson's new word is "plenty." She likes to say that she has plenty or Stella has plenty! So cute!

Stella is such a funny little girl! Her new phrase is "towitisit?" We believe that towitisit is a combination of what is it and who is it. It is hilarious! She also likes to talk about Colorado. She is always asking where Ruthi, Eric, Brandi, and Chester are. Today she answered her own question and said "Ruthi is in Colorado." It was precious. Stella is still wearing her big girl panties, and almost never has an accident. She loves her big girl bed, and calls for mommy and daddy when she wakes up. She won't get out of bed by herself!

MoJo has been battling a skin rash on his stomach for a few weeks. We assumed it was allergies, but called the vet when it didn't improve. He ended up needing a steroid shot, antibiotics, and medicated baths. The rash most likely started as allergies, but it eventually turned into an infection. He is doing better now, and is such a good boy. We are so glad that he is part of our family.

We took the girls back to Boone for Developmental Clinic last week! We love taking them back and showing them off. They were both at or above their adjusted age in all of the areas that they were tested in! We are so proud of our big, healthy girls! We also had the opportunity to take them into the NICU to show them the "little babies." Both of the girls had been asking to see the "little babies" and they were very concerned about the wires and tubes on the babies. We explained that the babies need help eating and breathing, and that answer seemed to satisfy them for now.

We are so excited to be leaving for vacation in a few weeks! Our family, and Mamaw Ruth and Papaw Marty will be meeting Eric and his family in Estes Park for a week of relaxation! We can't wait to enjoy the cool weather, beautiful scenery, bike trails, and just relax!

Finally, James and I will be celebrating our fifth anniversary this week! Mamaw Ruth and Papaw Marty are going to keep the girls while we go to a Cardinals game and spend the night downtown. James and I have had a lot of ups and downs in the last five years. I wouldn't say that I love James more than I did when we said our vows on the beach in Mexico, but I would say that our love is different. Our love is more realistic, we know each others imperfections, we have supported each other through some of the best days of our lives and some of the worst. I can't wait to see what the next five years has in store for us. I love you, James!


Cousin Ruthi spent the last month with Mamaw Ruth and Papaw Marty. Stella really enjoyed spending extra time with Ruthi.
Playing on Emerson's big girl bed. Their cribs turned into a full size headboards and footboards. I haven't taken any pictures of their new bedding yet, but I will post them when I get around to taking them!
They love to play in their beds! MoJo has been dying to sleep with them!
The girls start out in the corner, next to the wall at night. This is how we found Stella last week!
Aunt Karen, Emerson, and James. The girls love the golf carts!

Monday, June 28, 2010

June 28th, 2010

We took the girls to pick up their kitten from their friend, Jocelyn, last weekend. The kitten's name is Kyle, and he has done really well with the girls. He took turns riding in their car seats with them on the way home! Mo is also a big fan of Kyle, but I don't have any pictures of the two of them playing yet.


This picture was taken at our friends' wedding last weekend. James had a handsome orange tie, but it didn't last long!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Great Wolf Lodge- June 12th, 2010

I made three posts tonight, so be sure to scroll down and check them all out. We have been really busy the last few weeks, so it was easier for me to divide up our trips into different posts. We traveled to Northern Michigan the first weekend of June to celebrate James' cousin Anna's high school graduation. It was the girls first trip to Michigan. They did great, and we traveled more than 1500 miles between Thursday and Sunday!
Mamaw Ruth and Papaw Marty treated us to a getaway at Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City the following weekend, but I didn't take many pictures because we were too busy playing in the water! The girls loved the pools and water slides! We met Uncle Eric, Aunt B, and Cousin Ruthi there to celebrate Eric, B, and Ruthi's birthdays.
In other news, James & I are both taking three Masters classes this month. The only difference is that James is finishing up his graduate degree, and I just started working on my second graduate degree. We are both extremely busy right now with our girls, work, summer basketball, traveling, and classes, but life is good.
The girls are so much fun right now. They say the craziest things and are so funny! They are both potty trained! Emerson caught on really quickly once she decided she was ready. We still put them in diapers at bedtime, and we are loving only using a few diapers a day!
Stella gave up on her glasses after 24 hours. She knew that they didn't make a difference, and she wasn't interested in wearing them. Emerson, on the other hand, loves her glasses. She asks for them in the morning, and doesn't mess with them at all. Last night, she told James, "My glasses help me see." How sweet is that?
As you will be able to tell in the next few pictures, they are both starting to enjoy posing for pictures! It is hilarious!


Michigan Trip- June 5th, 2010

The pictures from our trip to Michigan are in the opposite order that they were taken. Sorry!
We stopped in Indiana on our way home. This is Stella giving Grandma MaryAnn a hug.
Emerson giving Grandpa Bob a hug.
Emerson, Ellie & Stella
Emerson put her crown on all by herself!
Stella got it right!
As we were passing the bridge to Canada, we told the girls to say "bye" to Canada. They both yelled, "BYE, BAD CANADA!" I'm not sure why Canada is bad, but it was funny!
Downtown Detroit didn't look too bad from this view!
Nonny, Papa, and Stella
Papa Fernando giving Emerson a kiss.
Nonny with the girls.
Papa with the girls.
Anna, Stella, Emerson & Auntie Tina at Anna's graduation party.
Emerson and Stella playing with Papa Kim and Nonny.
Nonny taught the girls two different Italian nursery rhymes. The girls were able to sing along with one of the songs! There are videos of Nonny teaching the girls the rhymes at the end of this post.
More playing.
Stella and Papa Kim.
Papa Fernando and Stella. The girls can say "Fernando!" They say, "Papa Nando!" It's precious!

Nonny teaching the girls Italian nursery rhymes.

Memorial Day Weekend-May 30th, 2010

Mo loves playing fetch! We enjoyed Mamaw and Papaw's lake on Memorial Day.
Fishing with Daddy & Papaw. Mo is chasing the boat!
Emerson did not want to get out of the boat!
The girls love riding in the boat.
Mamaw and Stella. I love this picture.
Mamaw and Emerson. Another great picture. The rest of the pictures were taken at the Innsbrook Concert.
Stella and Papaw
Dancing!
The girls love dancing with Mamaw and Papaw!
We had so much fun at the concert!

Friday, May 28, 2010

May 28th, 2010

Our babies have glasses! We went and picked up their glasses today, and then we went to the zoo. Emerson seemed like she really enjoyed being able to see. Stella seems confused about why we are making her wear glasses, but seems happy that she has the same glasses as her sister. I definitely see why our ophthalmologist encouraged us to put both of them in glasses.
Last year, the same monkey scared the girls when he walked up to the glass. This year, they loved him!
We saw elephants!
Stella enjoying the monkeys!
"No pictures, please!"
Emerson enjoying the stinky monkey house!
The monkeys were so hyper today! They put on a great show for us!
Happy Feet!
They liked the big bug statue!
They were watching the elephants in this picture. Emerson seemed to like the elephants and the monkeys the most this year. I have a strange feeling that Stella would enjoy the reptile house, but we didn't have time to visit the scary snakes!
Stella DID NOT like the hippos!
Emerson loved watching the hippo swim by the glass, but Stella flipped out.
Daddy pushing the stroller.